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Elhuero
06-25-2011, 23:25
behold, my sob story [BooHoo]

ok let me run this by y'all and see what you think (this is long I apologize)

around march last year I got canned from my job. (that's a whole other thread)

got COBRA stuff, filled it out and sent it in. I qualified for the ARRA reduced cobra permiums.

filled out the forms, sent them in and heard nothing back. for months. calls to the contact people in NY were not returned.

in sept got some CORBA forms in the mail, listing super expensive premiums, no mention of ARRA. tried to confirm, no response from anyone.

went thru the dept of labor. worked with a very nice gal at the KC office who couldn't get anyone to call her back either. she advised me earlier this year to fill out an appeal. this means copying or digitizing all my paperwork, and filling out a form online. haven't done this yet.

meanwhile, my sis in law still works at the place that fired me, and conveyed my problems to the HR boss.

lo and behold I get a call from someone from the company at a different office in KY. by her own admission "mistakes were made" and she would get back to me.

well she finally did and offered me two corba plans to choose from, both super expensive. she said the enrollment date for their coverage is november and the company would as a "courtesy" to me waive the months of premiums that I would owe from nov till now (this made my BSomerter peg out)

no mention of lowered premiums that I qualified for, and when I asked she said it couldn't be done, I no longer qualify.

I had tried to talk to a lawyer, they wanted like $300 for a consult and like $2k retainer if I hired them.

so what should I do? the company, by it's own admission, violated federal law. I was supposed to receive lowered premiums and didn't.

I have three options. first, just fill out the new forms and take the cobra I can get. With my current health problems I have been considering this.
second, file a claim with the govt. or third pay the dough to consult a lawyer.

part of me wants to take what I can get, but another part of me wants to stick it to this extremely unscrupulous foreign owned company I worked for and get what I was originally entitled to.. obama brand lowered premiums.

any advice is to will be appreciated and stuff.

Half Live
06-25-2011, 23:29
I would try and find a lawyer that does free consults and at least get some options before I pay anything.

Irving
06-26-2011, 00:04
I don't have any direct advice, but in my experience, sometimes retaining a lawyer is the only way to get anywhere. Good luck with all this.

JohnTRourke
06-26-2011, 05:01
forget it
COBRA blows
it's always super expensive.

Look up Cover Colorado
it's about the only affordable non-work plan individual coverage out there, esp if you have pre-existing conditions.

COBRA is only good for 18 months anyway.

Chad4000
06-26-2011, 06:42
forget it
COBRA blows
it's always super expensive.

Look up Cover Colorado
it's about the only affordable non-work plan individual coverage out there, esp if you have pre-existing conditions.

COBRA is only good for 18 months anyway.

Hmm... I'm looking too but didn't think cover colorado was super cheap. My coverage went from $204 / month for wife and i, to new company and add baby, $640 / month...... Fucking insane....

970TJ
06-26-2011, 09:54
email sent.

JohnTRourke
06-26-2011, 11:04
Hmm... I'm looking too but didn't think cover colorado was super cheap. My coverage went from $204 / month for wife and i, to new company and add baby, $640 / month...... Fucking insane....

there is no better individual deal than your company plan.
none

individual policies (not covered thru work or work for yourself) are crazy fucking expensive and don't cover much.

cover colorado is the cheapest of those.

kwando
06-26-2011, 11:12
I would try and find a lawyer that does free consults and at least get some options before I pay anything.

9news does free legal advice on certain days... its called lawline9. I've never used them but its worth a try